譯文：The White House and the Japanese government said on May 10 that U.S. president Barack Obama would visit Hiroshima on May 27 , who would be accompanied by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The trip is deemed highly symbolic because Obama will become the first serving U.S. president to visit there since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atomic-bombed by U.S. in 1945.

The White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest talked about the significance of Obama's visit, saying that he would not offer any apology for U.S. bombing of Hiroshima; instead, he would highlight his continued commitment to promoting world denuclearization.

U.S. hopes to discuss Iran deal

Obama is attending the Group of Seven Summit in Japan at the end of May, and he is planning for a trip to Hiroshima and may probably visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to lay a wreath and deliver a speech, aiming to draw international attention to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes reiterated that Obama would not review the decision of dropping the atomic bombs; instead, he would offer a forward-looking vision and might mention last year's Iran nuclear deal and pay tribute to the American soldiers killed during World War II.

Before the announcement of the trip, U.S. had sent in many officials to pave the way for Obama's unprecedented visit to Hiroshima, and the secretary of state John Kerry had even made history last month by becoming the first of his rank in office to visit the cenotaph of the memorial site. Rhodes explained that it would be a right time for an Obama's visit, saying that the trip would symbolize what the two countries had achieved in "building a deep and abiding alliance based on mutual interests, shared values, and an enduring spirit of friendship between our peoples." He added that both countries would cooperate closely on major global issues, and U.S had been proud of the role it played in defending its allies and ensuring regional peace and stability.

Abe welcomes Obama's upcoming visit to Hiroshima and hopes that could be an opportunity for both countries to pay respects to the victims. He stressed that Japan was the only country in the world to have suffered from atomic bombings, and he had long been insisting on banning nuclear weapons. He believed that Obama could witness firsthand the consequences of nuclear bombing in Hiroshima, which might further help in urging others to realize a world without nuclear weapons as for the sake of the future generations.

Obama deems a step toward denuclearization

Apart from Kerry, the highest-ranking American official to visit Hiroshima is the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who paid a visit there in 2008. The former U.S. president Jimmy Carter had traveled to the city after his presidency, whereas Obama would be the first sitting president to make such a landmark visit.

The New York Times had published articles worrying that Obama would apologize for the Hiroshima bombing. The Republican Party had even blamed him for practicing "apology diplomacy", stressing that the bombings actually helped speed up the end of World War II and avoid thousands of deaths of the American soldiers.

The media of both countries said that the White House had expressed concern about Obama's visit to Hiroshima, mainly because this year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on the Pearl Harbor and the U.S. presidential election in the coming November.

However, Obama considered the trip helping promote his vision of a nuclear weapons-free world. With regard to the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea should acquire nuclear weapons for self-defense, Obama administration officials said that the trip could help reaffirm the president's commitment to eliminating nuclear weapons.

■龐嘉儀

Questions

1. 「重申」除了可以reiterate、reaffirm表達外，還可用re_____？

2. 「致敬」可簡單表達為s_____？

3. 廣島位於日本哪裡？

4. 近年哪個國家的核武試驗（nuclear test）經常引起國際關注？

5. 目前有哪些國家擁有核武並簽署了《核不擴散條約》（Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons）？